The Return of Map Monday

Your favorite disability map series has returned!

RTC:Rural is excited to share that we’re relaunching #MapMonday, our weekly map series. Every Monday, we’ll share a new map on our social media channels. Follow RTC:Rural on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn so you don’t miss a map! (But don’t worry if you do miss one—they’re all available on our website).

“Mapping characteristics of places allows us to make informed decisions and ask meaningful questions about what, where, and how to address the needs of communities,” said Research Assistant Heidi Lissau. “We are able to display data visually and in a way that makes it more accessible to all. We can use maps like these to identify where specific needs are and patterns of characteristics that interact with and influence these needs.”

The Disability in America maps were created with demographic data from the most recent American Community Survey summary data, which the U.S. Census Bureau released in December 2018. These maps were originally created as part of our Geography and Rural Disability project. We have continued to update them as new ACS data is released. All of our maps display county-level data.

“Maps are a tool that we can use to help us better understand our world,” said Project Director Lillie Greiman. “Maps help expand our understanding of our communities and our world by both revealing patterns and trends across space as well as prompting questions about why these patterns exist and what can be done to change them. We hope that this map series will inspire you to ask questions and explore these data further in your community!”

Want to dive deeper into data for a specific state or specific county? Check out our Disability Data Lookup Tool, which provides an accessible way to look up data about disability in rural areas across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

If you have any questions about this map series or our geography research, please contact us. Our researchers are available to answer your questions, help you access the data you need, and provide other forms of technical assistance.

Have you used our maps in your work? Let us know!

We want to know where our maps have been and how you’re using them. Send us a message via email or social media and share your story, and you could be featured on our website or social media.